The disgraced former Mandera East Police Station officer, Abdihakim Abdi Saman, is now serving his sentence at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison in Nairobi, where he was transferred following his conviction and sentencing in February 2026.
The Court convicted Saman on two criminal counts arising from a violent confrontation on 11th May 2024, finding him guilty of grievous harm contrary to Section 234 of the Penal Code for fracturing the arm of 52-year-old Dahaba Noor Hillow, and assault contrary to Section 251 of the Penal Code for causing bodily injury to Al Abdirahman Maalim during the same incident, in a judgment delivered by Mandera Senior Resident Magistrate Omondi Cornel Ochieng' on 24th February 2026.
Evidence tendered during the trial included medical reports and X-ray films confirming the severe arm fracture sustained by Hillow, alongside testimony detailing the injuries inflicted on Maalim, with the prosecution calling witnesses whose sworn evidence pieced together the sequence of events and placed Saman at the centre of both assaults.
The court was satisfied that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, dismissing the accused's alibi defence as unsubstantiated, and the conviction followed proceedings in which the defence called six witnesses in a failed attempt to dislodge the prosecution's evidence.
Saman was first arraigned on 27th September 2024, remanded over the weekend, and subsequently released on a bond of Ksh 280,000 with surety on 1st October 2024, with conditions barring him from interfering with witnesses or contacting complainants linked to the case.
The victims later reported receiving threatening messages after his release, a development that intensified public interest in the matter within Mandera County and laid bare the intimidation faced by those who pursue justice against uniformed officers.
The officer had already been placed on interdiction and removed from the duty roster pending the outcome of the criminal proceedings, and the case was investigated by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), which deployed officers to Mandera to conduct an independent probe before forwarding the evidentiary file to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), triggering formal prosecution.
In sentencing, the court described the convict as a service police officer who exhibited excess force contrary to the National Police Service (NPS) motto that requires service to all, and noted that the first complainant was a 52-year-old lady who suffered grave harm.
The magistrate cited the Judiciary Sentencing Policy Guidelines 2023, observing that targeting elderly persons is a factor warranting a stiffer sentence, and ruled that the gravity of the offence together with the aggravating circumstances called for a custodial sentence to act as a deterrence.
Saman was consequently sentenced to 15 years imprisonment on Count One and 1 year imprisonment on Count Two, with the sentences ordered to run concurrently from 20th February 2026, and granted 14 days right of appeal.
The conviction stands as a rare instance in which an officer attached to a local station has been found criminally liable in open court after a full trial anchored on medical evidence, witness testimony and an IPOA-led investigation.
His appeal is now set for 25th November 2026, and this publication will continue to follow the proceedings and report on the outcome as the case moves through the appellate stage.
The victims, Dahaba Noor Hillow and Al Abdirahman Maalim, now at least have the assurance that the man who attacked them has been removed from the service and imprisoned.
No sentence, however, can undo what was done.
Dahaba Noor Hillow was 52 years old when her arm was fractured outside a police station, and the court itself recognized that targeting an elderly person was an aggravating factor warranting a stiffer sentence.
She will carry the memory of that day for the rest of her life.
This publication will continue to monitor the appeal proceedings and will provide updates on the outcome as the case progresses.
